Disclaimer - Some mild language, infrequent. No sexual references that I can pick up, but I may have let something past my radar. I don't own the characters apart from my OC, Shade.

Chapter 4 - Escalation

A few days after the sunglasses incident, each operator in the base awoke to find a Nerf tactical vest, a Maverick, and a primary weapon at the foot of their doors, plus a container of ammo to last them a while. Each operator's primary was different. Toad had a Longstrike, reflective of his role as a Sniper; Ozone had a Recon with a folding stock and lightweight barrel, for his role of a CQC Breaching Specialist; Rook also had a Recon, but with a collapsing stock like an M4, the standard Recon barrel, and the dual-mode light/laser; Meat and Royce both had Rayven CS-18s, fitted with red-dot sights, just to name a few kits.

Everyone also had a note to which read:

You have been put on notice. This is war.

Everyone for themselves. Form a team if you wish.

Kill – Hit within an inch of the heart. Hit in the neck. Hit in the heart. When dead, cease engagement, weapon above head, walk to the barracks. Dead men don't tell tales.

Barracks is designated safe zone. Safe zone radius is 100m from each main entrance. Upon spawning/respawning, you have 30 seconds to get away before you are clear to fire or be fired upon.

Most confirmed kills wins.

Good luck.

S-A-S-R

"Hey Rook!" called Meat. Rook was in the middle of putting his vest on when Meat called from down the hall.

"What is it Meat?"

"Any idea what the hell what S-A-S-R means?" Meat had already rigged up, wearing a blue t-shirt, jeans, kneepads, range glasses, plus the supplied vest. He had even adapted his weapon sling to fit his Rayven. "I know it's an acronym, just unsure what it stands for."

"Well, at first glance, I would assume that the Aussie SASR is up here and playing with our minds. However, I know that if they were SASR, they wouldn't have hyphenated each letter. They don't do that kind of thing."

"Then who do you think it is?" Ozone had walked up, also kitted up for action. He was wearing his sandy tan long sleeve top, with sleeves rolled, Multicam trousers, and his Multicam cap. "I can't think of anyone else."

Upon saying that, an air horn sounded, followed by an announcement on the PA. The voice being broadcast was garbled, like it was being put through a filter.

"Attention players. You have ONE minute to gear up and find a starting point. When the two horn burst is made, the game shall begin!"

The entire barracks building erupted in a sea of chaos. Everyone tossed their vests on, donned their gear, and loaded their weapons. Archer could not contain himself on how they took it all so seriously. He and Roach were on the rooftop of the mess hall, observing the scene below.

"Shade, they're all in. You sure this is a good idea?"

"From what I've heard, you guys haven't had a good mission in six months. I think everyone's a little pent up with action by now. This will be a good release." Shade replied, using a personal radio with headset and a secluded frequency. He was over by the briefing hall, with Scarecrow, waiting for their first victims. Shade had picked his own custom Recon. It had a collapsing stock, grip with spring deployed bipod, a red-dot sight, and two 12 round mags taped together jungle style. This allowed him to simply flip the magazines to reload them. Scarecrow had taken something which Shade thought was odd. He had opted to take just the Maverick. It was odd, until Shade saw his reason why. It turned out Scarecrow was a free-runner, and intended to exploit his skill in this mini-war. Shade looked back at the team he formed up. He only intended to have Roach by his side, but he had to drag in Archer and Scarecrow as they saw his massive cache of weapons. They were fortunate enough to be the ones who stumbled across Shade's plan in the first place. He wanted Roach has his ability to get into tight places and be able to survive was valuable. Archer, being one of the 141's snipers, had the ability to get some ranged kills from above, and Scarecrow's agility allowed him to escape and evade from any confrontation. Shade reflected on what he'd bring to the team.

Shade was the master at controlling the engagement. Since his tours with the 2nd Commandos, he'd always been able to know where the enemy was, how they would react, and how to counter that reaction. If the enemy was running, and was completely unaware, he would simply sidestep, wait for them to pass, and take them out from behind. If the enemy was staying put and expecting him, he would go low and take the shot from the corner. Shade had won many gunfights that way.

Two bursts of the air horn sounded, followed by Archer on the radio. "Shade, Scarecrow. You got two tangos headed your way. Looks like Chemo and Reaper. I've got no solution. Looks like they have no idea you're there."

"Thanks Archer. You can displace. Engage if you see fit." Shade then pulled Scarecrow closer to him. "Look, what I'll get you to do is jump out from here, fire a shot at their head level. Keep moving till you get over that guardrail and dive to cover. As soon as you hit that rail, I'll take the shot from here and try to get the kill. Don't be afraid to take a second shot." Scarecrow nodded in response, and readied his Maverick. Shade checked his sights to make sure they were on.

"You really think this is a good place to start, down in the hall?" Reaper's voice sounded feint. He was trying to be quiet, but his deep voice prevented from going too quiet.

"It's not the best, but everyone else will head to the rec-room and mess hall. It'll be a proverbial blood-bath there. Best wait it out here and go and track the stragglers."Chemo's plan sounded good, had he not counted on Shade and Scarecrow to be waiting around the corner. Upon him finishing, Scarecrow lept out, firing a single shot. Chemo and Reaper both let their weapons fly, Reaper's Stampede letting loose a volley of rounds. The second he hit the rail, Scarecrow let another shot fly, quickly sliding under the rain and into the small bushes lining the path. Shade took this chance to take a shot at Reaper's neck. He landed a solid shot in his throat, followed by another shot to Chemo's forehead. Both of them did not see it coming.

"This is gonna be a long day mates if you keep this up." Shade said, before cocking his weapon once more and vaulting over the rail to catch up with Scarecrow. "Gonna be a long day indeed."